Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,587 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 10.9% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,268 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,210 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.2% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in Norfolk Southern by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 3,704 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 14,866 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $3,694,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NSC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Norfolk Southern from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Norfolk Southern from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Norfolk Southern from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.68.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 1.7 %

NSC opened at $264.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $252.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.46. Norfolk Southern Co. has a twelve month low of $204.90 and a twelve month high of $277.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $59.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The railroad operator reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.14. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 19.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, CEO Alan H. Shaw sold 51,325 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.98, for a total value of $13,138,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,970,819.10. The trade was a 59.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $255.00 per share, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,550,000. This trade represents a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.